As airlift of pilgrims begin on Monday to the holy land, the Sokoto State Pilgrims Welfare Agency has said priority would be given to the 1,900 intending pilgrims from 2020/2021 whose payments had been with the agency.
The permanent secretary of the agency, Shehu Muhammad Dange, who stated this as part of the agency’s preparations for the 2022 Hajj exercise, said Sokoto PWA decided to go by the policy of first-come, first-served while considering the 2,404 seats allocated to the state by the National Hajj Commission.
According to him, the remaining 504 seats will go to fresh intending pilgrims from across the 23 local government areas of the state.
He said, “We have inaugurated various committees at local levels to fast-track the fulfillment of all necessary requirements of each intending pilgrim.
“Already, we have secured befitting accommodation for our pilgrims to ensure that all health provisions and protocols, especially those related to CovId-19 are noted and adhered to by pilgrims. We have the required vaccines and reputable laboratories designed to carry out tests 72 hours before pilgrims take off. Other necessary and basic arrangements had since been completed by the agency towards the success of the exercise.
“Saudi Arabian authorities have taken the responsibility of engaging their airlines in airlifting 30% each of pilgrims from African countries to the holy land with a view to ensuring early completion of the Airlift. The remaining 70 percent will be airlifted by domestic airlines to be arranged by NAHCON. We hope to witness the airlift of intending pilgrims from Nigeria to commence on the 6th of June, 2022.”
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